We don’t think you’re ready for these eddies 🌀
🌊 In this image you can see sub-mesoscale ocean dynamics, or small-scale movements of ocean waters such as eddies and small currents, create the swirling pattern of these phytoplankton blooms (shown here in green and light blue) in the South Atlantic Ocean.
🧑💻 Using a suite of water- and air-borne instruments aboard a self-propelled ocean glider and several airplanes, the first deployment of the Sub-Mesoscale Ocean Dynamics Experiment (S-MODE) mission will work together to show what’s happening just below the ocean’s surfaces.
🔄 Scientists think the eddies may play a role in the exchange of heat, gasses and nutrients between the ocean and Earth’s atmosphere. Understanding these small-scale eddies will help scientists better understand how Earth’s oceans slow down global climate change.
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Ocean Color/NOAA-20/NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP
#NASAEarth #OceanStudies #ClimateChange